Playlist

1. Survivorman

Illustration: Josh Cochran

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On Survivorman, there are no back-stabbing contestants, silly tribal councils, or bogus immunity challenges. There is only Les Stroud, a Canadian filmmaker and outdoorsman who in each episode ventures into an inhospitable, far-flung locale (the Arctic Circle, Georgia swamplands) with little more than the clothes on his back and a 50-pound bag of video gear. His mission: Endure seven long days all alone in each uniquely punishing ecosystem, chronicling his successes (finding a puddle of water deep in a Utah canyon) and failures (getting lost in the depths of a Costa Rican jungle). In the process, he demonstrates how to snare a snowshoe hare with wire from a wrecked airplane and the proper technique for eating a wriggling scorpion like it's a jalapeño popper. The result: an hour of heart-pumping, stomach-churning reality adventure with the MacGyver of the Science Channel.

2. 8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk

Is the technofuturist tunage of Kraftwerk not geeky enough for you? Interface with this tribute album to Düsseldorf's finest, which was made by some of the biggest artists in the chiptune world, where musicians use old Game Boys and Ataris as blippy lo-fi synthesizers.

3. Brass Goggles

Great Babbage's ghost! This blog is dedicated to ferreting out cool examples of steampunk — the sci-fi subgenre that imagines a retrofuturist Victorian England overrun with difference engines and giant steam-powered robots. Goggles highlights old-school tech in videogames like Rise of Legends and Thief II and in anime like Last Exile. Don't miss the photo of one of the world's first typewriters.

4. Xbox 360 HD DVD Player

Officially, this drive connects to your Xbox 360 and lets you watch hi-def movies. Unofficially, with a few simple hacks, it can be hooked up, sans 360, directly to a PC or TV — giving you lag-free, sparkling HD for a grand total of $200. That makes it one of the most inexpensive, high-quality HD DVD drives on the market. (Similar off-the-shelf drives can cost more than twice as much.) How to? Find the software drivers on BitTorrent, and download them to the drive via its USB port. Nota bene: Our lawyers want you to know that this may void your warranty.

5. Games Factory 2

Stick it to the big game developers with this nifty piece of software. Games Factory 2 lets you design and build your own videogame — no mad coding skillz necessary. Drag ready-made icons or drop a customized avatar on a playing field to concoct your electronic escapade. Included debug software ensures a glitch-free gaming experience. For just $59, you'll never have to squander your hard-earned quarters at the arcade again.

6. Neil Young: Live at the Fillmore East

Neil Young, progenitor of grunge, opens his vaults and kicks off his long-rumored archive series with a vintage Crazy Horse set from 1970. A notorious stickler for high fidelity, Young spent years remastering his basement tapes. The resulting pyrotechnics between Young and the late guitarist Danny Whitten are something to behold.

Illustration: Josh Cochran

7. Idiocracy

Last fall, Fox released Mike Judge's hilarious social critique in theaters in only seven cities, guaranteeing its failure. Stupid move, but lucky for us it's now on DVD. Luke Wilson stars as an underachiever who wakes up in 2505 and discovers a world so dumbed-down (to wit: the most popular TV show is called Ow, My Balls!) that he's the smartest person alive.

8. Alternadad by Neal Pollack

Writer and aspiring rock star Neal Pollack chronicles his journey from single hipster pothead to married-with-child hipster pothead. While the genre — unlikely parental candidate explores the decision to breed and its consequences — isn't exactly unique, Pollack's take on the milestones of fatherhood (like how he coaxed a wayward noodle out of his 2-year-old's nose) is.

9. Motorola Bluetooth DJ Headphones S805

We admit it: We're addicts. These babies pair with any Bluetooth-enabled stereo device to let you skip, play, pause, crank up, or dial down your music. Plus, they solve the most annoying problem of full-size 'phones: Big sound comes at a Faustian price (namely, a thick, 6-foot-long cord). Thanks to Bluetooth, there's no cord at all. Throw in the ability to pause your tunes automatically when you answer a call and you get must-have earwear for the urban techno-audiophile.

10. Swivel.com

Imagine our delight at a Web site that not only lets you play with other people's data but also helps you make your own charts! (Yes, we're nerds; and that surprises you why?) Upload Excel files or enter your own figures. From there, create a mashup of your data with someone else's, pick a pretty chart style, and kiss Excel ugliness goodbye.